Poetic Injustice
by Mihkail
Summary: Sasuke's return to Konoha was something Sakura has dreamed of and wished for nearly a decade. But when the man she has struggled to understand and gain acceptance from for so long returns as a monster, she learns the true significance of the phrase be careful what you wish for. Slight SasuSakuNaru love triangle. Warning inside. [ON HIATUS]
1. An Undeserving Fate

**__****A/N**___**:**__ Originally this story was a simple one-shot. Now, I've decided to make something more of it. The problem is, I'm a bit overwhelmed by the amount of details I think I need to keep track of. Mainly character abilities and personalities. I'd like to be as accurate and IC as possible—with some exceptions—but I have a feeling that isn't going to happen if I actually want to crank more chapters out._

_Honestly, I'm not keeping pace with the manga right now. I'm a bit behind, and don't read on a regular basis, sooo...I have to research a lot of things, and then try to remember a whole bunch of facts and abilities/weaknesses for a whole bunch of people, and just assume that the source I'm getting them from is correct._

_That being said, there will be errors, and things will mostly likely not be completely IC...because I kinda give up at this point. It's exhausting, and makes me lose motivation to write. Just letting you know._

___**WARNING:**__ this story—and this chapter in particular—is dark, dirty, and for mature viewers. It contains non-consensual sex, occasional swearing, and violence and gore...also plenty of drama. Heavy drama. Drama that might make the average person lose their last marble, if they were in similar situations._

_I also apologize for any typos and grammatical errors I may have overlooked. They'll get fixed. One day._

* * *

The double doors slid shut softly, returning the silence to the vacant home as Sakura turned around and observed the dimly lit room. A faint smile lingered on the face of the mother-to-be, a hand slipping unconsciously around the shallow slope of her abdomen. It was too early to show, but she knew the coming weeks would streak by faster than she was prepared for, and before she could blink, she'd turn into a blimp. A cranky, nauseous, achy blimp.

Bare feet pattered across the cool wooden floor, spotless, save for the dusty specks and bigger chunks of ceramic that still needed to be swept up by the table. The fresh memory of Kiba unceremoniously dropping his cup of sake reentering her mind as she knelt down and gathered the debris into a small pile. The remains of his rice wine had already been soaked off the floor.

It had been well worth it. The look on his and Hinata's faces had been priceless when she told them the news. The announcement of her pregnancy had rendered the room quiet enough to hear a pin drop….or, in this case, a half-full sake cup. They were the first to hear. Sakura hadn't even broken the news to her parents yet, but soon…

So much had changed in the past few years. Naruto, the fiery, pervy little brat she'd always been socking in the gut and slapping upside the head had grown up…and so had she. It had taken her longer than she'd been willing to admit to recognize him for what he truly was; the one man she could rely on without a doubt. The one man that would never let her down, would always be there for her through thick and thin. The one man that always had, and always will love her unconditionally.

Those pale jade eyes lost their focus on the sharp crumbs piled before her knees as she sat, recalling the day that had changed everything for her. The day she had been foolish enough to intercept Sasuke alone, after he had defeated Danzo; the day that almost ended her life. Even now, she couldn't look back on that fateful day without a cringing shame overcoming her. At the time, it seemed like the best idea. The one way she could make up for everything she had unintentionally burdened Naruto with. The method to erasing the debt between them.

But what had happened? Sasuke…he had nearly killed her. He would have struck her down like she was nothing but a pesky insect buzzing too close to his ear—the only thing he had ever regarded her as. And she would have fallen. Fallen, just like the weak, naive child she had been as she let him slip behind her, dropping her guard while she tried to muster the courage to kill him herself. Kakashi had saved her from the first blow, and then Naruto had showed up to save her from the second.

Sakura's eyes squeezed shut as she stood back up, the broken ceramic cradled in a napkin. Those memories…why did she think of them now? Nothing could change them. Nothing could change anything she had done, Sasuke had done, Naruto had done… But if those events had brought her to this day, then it was all worth it, wasn't it? Naruto was the Hokage now, just as he had always planned to be, and she was his wife. _That _had never been planned, but she couldn't be happier.

For the first time in so, so long, everything felt right. Everything made sense. And Sasuke…who knew where he was now? His promise to destroy the Leaf Village hadn't come to fruition. He had seemingly dropped off the face of the earth. Was he dead?

Ah, but she was about to think herself into another circle now. Every so often she did that. She asked questions that couldn't be answered, conjured up possibilities that couldn't be justified beyond her own imagination.

None of that mattered now. _He_ didn't matter now. Sakura had her own life. The life she had been craving for so long.

The rest of the dishes were collected and piled into the sink. She would work on them tomorrow. Right now, the tea was warming her stomach and the hour was late. Normally she would be able to stay up for a while longer. Her shifts at the hospital had always demanded much from her, and had boosted her stamina over time. Maybe her lethargy was the first effect of caring for two now.

The hem of her long, deep emerald green skirt brushed along the dark wood as she passed down the hall to their bedroom. A skirt she wouldn't have been caught dead in months earlier, as it was highly impractical for missions, but she had been suspended from those for now. Naruto refused to give her any assignments in her current state. It was something she had originally whined and protested about, but he was just as stubborn and hard-headed as she was, and being the Hokage as well as her husband…well, it'd been impossible to get her way in the matter. His decision had made sense, she had to admit. She was just afraid of growing restless and getting rusty in her down time.

But change wasn't so bad now and then. She had even begun growing her hair out. It hadn't been long since she had barely entered her teens, and back then, she'd only been trying to impress Sasuke and win his affection with it. When she had chopped it short and shaggy, it'd been a statement for herself. A phase of coming into her own identity. But now, she rather liked the thought of it growing out again. Currently, it fanned a little past her pale shoulders, swishing gently over the cream-colored halter top her mother had given her, designed with a large, bold branch of sakura blooms stretching diagonally across the front.

Sliding the door open, she was greeted by the dark room and empty bed. Naruto often worked long hours, and it was common for him to spend half his nights at his own desk. She'd heard too many stories from his assistant, and how he'd find him sprawled over a mess of papers, staining them with his drool as he snored loudly, and the remnants of spilled green tea dripping from the edge onto the floor. Pulling him away from his duties was like trying to get him to quit eating ramen. It just wasn't going to happen. But…as much as she missed him at night, she could only love him more for his unyielding devotion to their village. He would die to defend it in a heartbeat, she knew that.

If she was lucky, she'd wake up in the morning to find him nearly pushing her off the bed as he sprawled out over it, and kicking the blankets to the floor. All she could do was hope this would be one of those nights, and not the one where she'd wake to find it just as empty as it had been when she fell asleep.

Sliding the door shut behind her, her tired, half-lidded eyes let the endless shadows envelope her as she stopped short of the foot of the bed, barely making out its bulky shape. Gripping the hem of her shirt, she prepared to peel it up and over her head, only to pause abruptly with her arms crossed over one another, fingers curled under the fabric. Her senses focused sharply, snapping from their lazy, contentedly oblivious state. Everything became detailed. The black room shaped itself into familiar dark shades, and she recognized their dresser against the wall to her side, the two night tables next to their bed, and the closet in the corner. The wind blew outside, rustling the leaves of the thick, ancient trees that shaded their home, and somewhere in the distance the screech of a bird of prey caught her attention. Inside the room, nothing made a sound. Only her soft breathing was detected, and the faint shuffle of her skirt against the edge of the bed in front of her as she shifted her weight.

Her hands pulled the shirt slowly over her head, past her long, pastel pink hair, and crumpled into a soft ball between her hands as she held it in front of her. The cool air of the room met her waist, but seemed to grow colder and wisp up her spine in an icy sensation.

Sakura paused again, senses still straining…but for what? She found she was searching for something, and it made no sense. She almost felt…suspicious…of her own bedroom. Like something was…different. So strange. This had never happened before.

A small huff of air passed through her nose as she chuckled almost inaudibly to herself. Spooked by nothing, how silly was that?

Lazily tossing her shirt to the floor, she hooked her thumbs under the top of her skirt and pulled it down, letting it drop in a ring around her ankles. Stepping out of it, she reached around behind her to unclip her strapless white bra, decorated with a modest touch of lace, and let that fall in the same heap. Her steps, calm and trusting, wandered around the edge of the bed to their dresser, and rummaged for one of Naruto's shirts. As she pulled out a plain black one that would undoubtedly just cover the very tops of her thighs, concealing the matching white panties so long as she didn't raise her arms, she froze again.

It was a dreadful feeling of unexplainable origins that slithered through her, and she fought off a sudden shudder as her eyes squeezed shut and she sighed quietly to herself. "Really, Sakura… Since when are you afraid of the dark?" Chiding herself with a hint of annoyance, she quickly pulled the shirt over her and crawled across the bed.

She'd been home alone a hundred times before, and was no stranger to darkness, whether literal or metaphorical. Perhaps it was simply another effect of being a mother…especially a new one. Things she was ordinarily unafraid of seeming to be more threatening when she had something else to protect…? No one had given her a guidebook on the subject yet, though she imagined her mother would likely come up with something of the sort, once she was told the news.

Her partially clothed form flopped sideways across the neatly made bed, one leg crooked with the other straight, one arm under her cheek with the other stretched out, wrist bent over the edge of the bed above her head. Her eyes opened a sliver as the soft surface cushioned her, lulling her into its promise of comfort and curious dreams to come. She focused dully on the darkness that expanded out before her, relaxed, squinted gaze aimed over the foot of the bed and at the dark wall across from it. The wall that held the door she had just passed through, and the tall shadow that was positioned next to it.

The shadow that that was a darker shade on the bottom half, and a brighter shade on the top half. A shadow with arms clothed in white crossing over the strip of a pale chest that showed between the flaps of fabric cascading down it, and a patch of black on top with long strips hanging over a pair of crimson eyes.

Sakura's stared, oblivious, as the image slowly sank into her, increasing in familiarity the longer she soaked in the visage.

The knee that was bent with a foot flat against the wall while the other stood straight, his back leaning in a casual, relaxed pose against the supporting surface as he stared right back into her unknowing eyes. It wasn't until his face, so stoic and deadly, broke into an uncharacteristically soft smile, that her body sprang to life.

With the reflex of a loud gasp, she flailed from the bed and toppled backwards off the edge, landing with a heavy thump on the cool, hard floor. Sasuke didn't move from his spot as he calmly watched her frantic movements take flight under the burst of terror that had seized her.

"I could have killed you a hundred times over, Sakura. You're growing soft." His deep voice murmured through the air to her, proving his authenticity. Her mouth gaped open in wordless shock as she crawled backwards and smacked into the wall, doe-eyed as she tried desperately to figure out if this was some sort of sick, lucid dream, despite all the evidence that stated otherwise.

"No… You've always been soft." He corrected himself, voice dropping as his eyes-his sharingan-narrowed slightly.

"S-…Sasu-….ke…!" Her clenching throat managed to squeak as her hands clawed up the wall behind her, ushering her to stand on her bare feet, yet clinging to it to keep the maximum amount of space and obstacles possible between them. He was here…in her home…in her room… How? _Why?_ What did he want? He'd been missing for years, he'd tried to kill her and Naruto. He hated them. He hated _everyone_. What was he _doing_?

"Mm.." Was his unintelligible response, his eyes passing over her every tense move while he remained still. Then, they closed. The red orbs hid from her as his head bowed slightly, and she watched in mounting tension as his smile grew, showing a set of teeth she'd rarely ever seen outside of an angry snarl when they were still Team 7.

"Sasuke.." She breathed, a victim of her own surprise as she failed to make sense of what was going on, and found herself unable to will her limbs into doing anything sensible for her…like make for an escape.

"What are you doing here?" Her chest heaved, and she struggled to keep calm enough not to hyperventilate, though it felt as if a crushing weight was threatening to lock the air from her lungs. Her muscles contracted, forcing waves of goose bumps over her arms and legs.

"How did you get in?"

His eyes reopened, staring at her from across the room as that vicious smile haunted her. "I thought you'd be happy to see me… "

She acted like a trapped rat, and he hadn't taken a single step in her direction. Hadn't moved once since she entered the room, shut the door, and stripped in front of him, teasing him with her milky flesh and soft curves. The curves of a woman that could have been his so long ago. The curves that had been tainted by _Naruto_.

It had always been a wonder to him that she could react so much without him doing anything more than glancing at her. Even if that glance was full of boredom, or annoyance, or hate, or murder, she always had something to give in return. Something so…drastic, so overwhelmed by emotions. So many years she'd wasted pining for him, harassing him, begging him to stay, then begging him to come back, then finally…begging him to let her come with him. But she hadn't truly been prepared for that, had she? Sakura…foolish, foolish Sakura.

"Wh-…why should I be?" She swallowed thickly, flinching the moment his knee fell from its angled position, placing his foot back on the floor. Flinching enough that she felt the adjacent wall knock into her shoulder, announcing her arrival into the very corner of the dark room with the bed and some feet of vacant space dividing them.

"You hate me." An arm curled protectively over her belly as she watched him like a hawk, and the gesture caused him to glance down the length of her covered torso.

"You tried to _kill_ me!"

Her blunt, factual statements went unanswered, and she grew even more anxious as his gaze lingered below her eye level. When the silence became too much to bear, and it did all too quickly, her shaky voice shouted at him.

"What do you want?"

His eyes were roused from whatever thought or daydream they had been distracted with, and looked back up at her, his smile gone.

"I want what is mine." He murmured back at her, quiet and cold, and she stilled. Curiously, she observed the arms that slipped from their immobile cross, and the sluggish pace that set him in motion to follow the walls of her room. Her heart hammered loudly in her chest as the space between them was closed ever so slowly. He was winding around the foot of the bed, one hand spread over the wall, dragging his fingertips along it as his gaze wandered thoughtfully.

"Naruto." The name dripped like venom off his tongue, seeming to hurt him even as a slight cringe marred his features. Or was that anger?

As he met the corner across from her, hand touching the same wall that was meant to serve as her own protector-as if she could melt into it-her knees moved her onto the bed of their own accord. Before she could crawl halfway across it in her panic, kneeling on one of their pillows, she noticed him stop abruptly.

A sharp look pierced her, threatening her wordlessly, and inciting the correct response as her joints locked up and she halted in mid-motion.

"Don't do that." A hiss of a command sent a flurry of butterflies to bounce insider her stomach.

"D-Don't…do what?" Her voice trembled, knees shaking awkwardly as they pressed into the squishy mattress.

"Run from me." He answered in a low, steely tone, and turned to face her completely with his hand slipping off the wall, tips raking along the wood to make an eerie sound.

Seconds felt like hours as they ticked by, filled with nothing but pale jade meeting harsh, patterned red as they stared one another down.

"What do you want, Sasuke?" She asked a second time in a mere whisper, and it was all she could muster was the internal battle waged inside her, fighting over fleeing from him or attacking. To attack would be suicide, she reasoned. It was no secret that he was far more skilled than she was. Any Uchiha was known to be a formidable opponent, but he was even a cut above the rest. But to flee… Where would she go? Would she even make it to the door?

"Please… I've left you alone. I've moved on. It's over. I'll never bother you again. Everything I've done, everything I've said… I'm sorry. Please…just go."

She watched in suspense as his eyes narrowed strangely at her timid, unsure words, and then a harsh, abrupt laugh shouted off the walls of her room that was beginning to feel more and more uncomfortably cramped by the second. A laugh that sounded almost deranged, giving her a chill.

"This lie of a life…" He began with a pause in his laughter. "This is what you've cowered into? The wife of Uzumaki Naruto!"

Sakura's face paled as she listened to him, still frozen in an awkward position at the top of the bed, pillows caving in around her knees.

"_This_ is your last resort to escape the truth?"

"What are you talking about?" She whispered warily.

"You will always be mine, Sakura." He snapped harshly, teeth glinting in a manic grin as another chuckle rumbled from his chest.

"No…" She murmured in disbelief. Had he gone mad? He must have…

"Then prove it." His hot breath flushed over her face as he caged her against the headboard in the next moment. Sakura lost her own breath as time stood still, and she became aware of nothing but how alarmingly close he was to her, and how little she was wearing. The masculine scent drowned everything out, the sheet of white fabric and pale, porcelain skin creating a barrier before her. The sound of his breathing, a bit more ragged than it should be.

Instinct sent her fist slamming into his chest with the force of a boulder, and his form shot from the bed and crashed into the opposite wall, splitting the wooden frame under his spine. The blankets and pillows twisted and flew messily from the bed as she turned and leapt, aiming for the door that offered her escape. As her hand slapped onto the surface to fling it to the side, two shuriken sank into the back, causing her to scream and thrash her hand away. The small metal weapons were tossed to the floor, blood gushing from the twin gashes that ran deep between her metacarpals.

She whirled around to find him pushing from the wall and soaring through the air at her, a blur of white and dark blue with the glint of a steel blade at his side. Ducking out of the way, she heard his assault strike the wall, and wasted no time in spinning to land a kick at the back of his calf, forcing it to buckle beneath him. He spun just as quickly on his knee, and she jumped backwards to avoid a whirl of shadows and dance of blade aimed to slash across her waist.

Sakura yelped, covering the spot he would have split open if he could have reached, and gaped at him in horror as she turned and ran for the bedroom window.

He would kill her, she had no doubt…but her own life was of little significance, compared to what she was really trying to protect.

A flash of bright orange illuminated the room, reflecting off the walls with their only warning, and Sakura had only a split second to dive face-first to the floor as a cloud of flame shot past her, dancing and whipping over her head as she covered herself with her arms, feeling the heat prickle off her skin as it singed her.

As soon as it dissipated, she was scrambling back to her feet and launching into the air with the springs of a rabbit, only to feel a force slam into her from behind, and send her tripping and stumbling over herself. She was knocked into the wall below the window, and a searing pain crippled her into a useless heap as she screamed. Unable to move, she glanced down, tears spilling from her eyes as she registered the blade protruding from her stomach and sticking into the wall, pinning her as blood poured freely from the wound.

The sword twisted ever so slightly, but it was more than enough to send another deafening scream clawing from her throat. A spasm shook her, nails digging into the cool surface of the wall as she looked up at the window, inches above her head.

"Why!" She cried, his weight still holding her still…not that she could move if she wanted to. The pain was blinding, and she could no longer feel her legs.

Nothing answered her. Nothing gave her peace as she sobbed uncontrollably against the wall, the shower of blood pooling around her knees and spreading further into the room as she grew steadily weaker.

Her eyes slipped shut, hot tears stinging them as a heaviness sucked her in. She wanted to keep them open. She had to. She had to survive this. It was so wrong… This wasn't supposed to happen.

No, she would live. If she had to crawl from the house on her hands, dragging her lifeless legs behind her, she would live.

Defiantly, she forced her eyes open again, only the wall that had been bracing her had vanished. The pain in her stomach vanished with it. The feeling in her legs returned, and there was something big and soft pressed against her side.

Sakura gazed in hazy wonder at the door positioned across from her horizontal form, and the shadowy figure that was leaning next to it. The bottom half was a darker shade, and the top was brighter. Clothed arms folded over a pale chest, and a dark bangs hung over piercing crimson eyes that were locked with hers. Sasuke's knee was bent, foot pressed flat on the wall while the other stood straight.

When the realization hit her, Sakura flung herself from the bed, toppling backwards off the edge and hitting the cool, hard floor with a heavy thump. She crawled frantically until she felt the wall smack into her back, and stared mute at the man that stood opposite her.

A smile, so deceitfully soft, greeted her as the former love of her life, now feared enemy, watched her calmly.

Her hand slapped over her belly, and she looked down in awe at the clean black shirt that covered her. Not an ounce of blood was left to see.

"Oh…..Oh no…" She choked, looking back up at him as a fresh surge of adrenaline shot through her.

This was a genjutsu. She had spiraled into his clutches the very moment she made eye contact with him when she laid down on the bed.

"Don't tell me you didn't feel even a little relief when that blade passed through you…" He murmured to her, unblinking as he pushed himself slowly from the wall and began stalking around the foot of the bed all over again, fingertips gliding along the vertical surface as he moved. This time, Sakura didn't get off the floor…nor did she speak.

"You never wanted that child, Sakura. Not his." His words twisted into her mind, and he watched her brows knit and her face wince.

There was no escaping this. No way of knowing if she was still in a genjutsu now, or if he had released her. This was a fight that could never, ever end in her favor. She had lost the second she had looked at him, and she felt her heart drop into the pit of her stomach as she began to understand what she was up against.

Swallowing as she bottled up the reserves of her courage, her back slid up the wall, and she never once took her eyes off him as he met the corner that was across from her, pausing to glance up at her when she didn't move for the bed. A knowing smirk met her.

"You're here to torment me…is that it?" She spoke surprisingly calm, though it was all she could do to keep herself from breaking down in front of him.

"To test me? For what?"

Sasuke let her questions hover in the air as he began his slow movement again, inching towards her, and noting the tremors that passed from her legs up her spine.

"Answer me, you bastard!" Her voice had degraded into something feral and demanding, desperate as she growled at him, and her green eyes narrowed harshly as he pressed ever closer.

It caused a grin to sprout, a grin that shaped him into something grotesque. Something that promised her torment was far from over, and cemented her theory that he was nothing like the person she had met as a child; he was simply a monster now.

Sasuke stopped only when he was right in front of her, and the will that held her in place, keeping her from bolting from him lingered even as his hand reached out and pressed firmly over her pregnant belly. Sakura tensed so stiffly that her whole body began to ache, and a bead of sweat collected at her temple.

The scent of his dark hair met her as he leaned past her, mouth tickling over her ear. "Tell me you don't wish this child was mine…" A heated growl dared her, and Sakura's eyes widened as his chest brushed into her, and her body reacted shamelessly with the soft buds of her breasts forming tightly beneath the thin barrier of her shirt—Naruto's shirt.

"Go to hell." She snapped, though as fearless as she tried to sound, there was no denying the volumes her body language spoke. She was scared, yes. More scared than she could remember being in a long, long time. And even more scared now that he was able to spark even the faintest arousal from her.

This was demented on so many levels…

Whatever his motives or plans, she couldn't guess, but she wasn't going to stand idly by and make this easy for him. Taking a shaky breath, she threw caution to the wind, and with a wrist as quick as lightning she struck at his jaw, landing the hit with a crack. His hand flew to her with the same speed, if not faster, and backhanded her across the face.

She shrieked as she stumbled backwards, blood oozing from the three gashes that streaked over her cheek. When he had wedged those shuriken between his knuckles was beyond her, but she made her next move count as she barreled into him, using her weight to slam him to the ground.

Instead of hopping over him and trying to run this time, she flashed through a couple hand signs and made to strike her palm at his gut, only to feel his feet kick into her chest and send her sprawling through the air past his head and tumbling into the wall.

Flipping back onto his feet, the electric white glow of his chidori blinded her briefly, before the punch landed in her chest. Another yell, and he was smirking coldly as her paralyzed limbs hung limply. She toppled down at his feet, leaving a splintered wooden beam behind her from the impact.

Eyes cracking open to look up at him, she caught another glint of metal just as it pierced into her abdomen a second time, and she buckled forward with a howl, gripping the blade with her bare hands reflexively as her body shook all over again. The blood spurted from the wound, seeping into her shirt and staining the floor as she slumped back down, exhausted and drained of life.

"Please stop this…" A tear dripped down her cheek again, mixing with the blood from her gashes and stinging. The beads of sweat at her temple finally rolled down the side of her face, and more beads collected along the groove of her back as tremors rocked her.

A pained and startled yelp was forced from her as the blade was ripped away, and she opened her eyes to look up at him, feeling the gaping holes the weapon left behind slowly melt back into seamless flesh as the illusion persisted, and mended the lethal blow before it could steal her into permanent darkness.

"All you have to do is say it, Sakura." He insisted, glaring down at her as hatefully as he ever could.

"Say what?" She choked through a sob, arm cradling her stomach as the last ache deep inside disappeared into nothing.

She felt him gripping her wrists as he knelt over her, and spreading her arms up above her head and into the wooden floorboard. Twisted under him with her back to the floor and her hips angled to the side, he held both of her wrists with one hand and wrapped the fingers of his other around her neck, squeezing enough to alarm her, but not so much that she couldn't speak.

"That your life is a lie! Say it! Admit that you don't want this…that you don't want him… You're just as pathetic as the first day I laid eyes on you." The snarl tickled her ear, and she tried to shy away from him…from the hate in his voice, the hate in his eyes, but he wouldn't let her move as he straddled her abused waist and dropped the weight of his chest onto her.

"Tell me you're mine…just as you always have been."

With her head turned to the side, injured cheek painting crimson into the floor, she stared over at the bed posts, feeling her last nerves begin to fray and spiral out of control. These words of his…they were so alien. They made no sense to her. Where had this possession come from? When had he become so…broken? He never cared before. Never. Why did he care now? Or did he just want to prevent her from ever attaining happiness?

"TELL ME!" He shouted into her ear, a fit of rage overcoming him at her silent refusal, and Sakura visibly flinched under him.

"NO!" She shouted back, fresh, hot tears pouring down her face.

The next thing she knew, he was impaling her again, sending another crippling pain wracking through her weakened form.

He withdrew, she felt herself begin to mend…and then he did it again. Her arms and legs twitched and flailed as shockwaves of agony sprang through her.

And then he did it again…and again…and again….

Each slice of the sword as terrible and shocking as the very first. Nothing could stop the pain. It was endless. Her screams echoed off the walls for what seemed like hours, and she gradually felt the sanity of her mind unravel. Even when she could take no more, she couldn't escape it. He wouldn't allow it.

Then…blissful relief. The wounds of her belly sealed shut a final time, the blood ceased to flow, leaving her in a literal pool that encased her from the tips of her fingers to the toes of her feet. It coated everything, dying her hair a stark, unholy red. He had paused, the splatters on his shirt and chest descending from view as he bent down to whisper into her ear…whisper so quietly and gently she thought it was a voice climbing from the depths of her own tattered mind…coaxing her into letting go and embracing unconsciousness, or even death.

"Say it…"

Her throat was so raw it hurt to speak, but she tried. A hoarse slur of syllables struggled to make sense as she panted, eyes swollen and red, face blotched with blood, sweat and tears.

"I…I wa-….I sssss-….uhnn….." Another sob left her and she trembled, lips quivering in fear, as she imagined that blade striking through her a 17th…32nd…59th time? She had lost count. All she knew was that she couldn't do it anymore. It was too much.

She felt him shift, and her fear skyrocketed without even seeing what he was doing.

"NO! I-..AHH…SSS-SS-SASSUKE!" She clawed at the floor, turning over onto her tortured stomach with a wet plop and choked through more frantic sobs. "I-I'm s-s-sorry! You! It-it-it sh-should have been-….been you…"

He didn't say a word as he watched her fall apart, waiting patiently for her to make sense. The katana, held loosely in his grip, hung at his side.

"Always you.. I'm suh-…..s-s-….sorry… My…my...life… Everything….is a lie…" The last three words sent her careening into blind emotion, and she gasped for air as she curled into a ball and cried so hard she vaguely wondered if her eyes were bleeding. Cried so hard that it took her a few minutes even to realize that all the blood she had been laying in had disappeared, and was replaced with her soft mattress for a third time. Her hair was dry, her cheeks flawless, and the pain—physical pain, anyway—was gone.

The flexible touch of the blankets, gripped tightly in her fists as her face buried into its safe haven, eventually brought her back around to reality as she looked up. She was curled in the center of the bed, and as she glanced to the side, she found Sasuke standing next to the door with his back leaning lazily against the wall, arms crossed and one leg bent up.

Despite her hair falling dry around her face, and the absence of blood, the swollen redness of her eyes hadn't changed and a sheen of sweat coated every inch of flesh that she could sense, even managing to dampen the bed sheets.

He pushed off the wall and stalked straight towards her. This time, she didn't hurdle off the edge. All she did was snag one of the pillows and clutch it to her for dear life, shaking as tears flowed in endless rivulets down her cheeks. As terrifying as it was to watch him drift over to her, she was unable to look away, even as his weight shifted onto the bed and he crawled over her.

The pillow, much to her dismay, was pulled from her grip and tossed to the floor. Before she could curl her hands into her chest, he took them into his own and lifted them above her head, though he didn't pin them. A soft, feathery touch smoothed down each arm as he kissed her on the lips.

Her eyes snapped shut, rendered motionless at the contrast she was forced to endure. Endless pain, and now the lightest of sensation?

When her lips didn't move, he spread them gently with his own and dipped a tongue into her. A sharp, startled gasp answered him, and paused.

"Look at me, Sakura."

Reluctantly her eyes opened, and grew wide in wonder as a pair of onyx stared back.

The torture…was it over? Had he ended the illusion? Or was he trying to trick her? Ease her into a false sense of security?

His eyes trailed down to her lips again, and he kissed her a second time, snagging her bottom lip and suckling lightly, before releasing with a soft pop. Then, they glided over her cheek to her ear, his tongue darting out to lap at her lobe.

"Mine." She heard him whisper, still too frightened to move, and waited with baited breath as his hands ventured under the black shirt and smoothed up over her sides, thumbs meeting over her center and passing over her belly button and up to cradle the milky globes in his palms, fingers barely squeezing as she felt the calloused pads brush over each nipple at once.

Her back instantly arched slightly, a strangled cry music to his ears as she huffed a shaky breath. Every new touch made her twitch, cringe, or hiss in fear through her teeth, always expecting the worst, and yet it never came.

She watched him as he moved, raking his fingers back down her waist, squirming under them along the way, and then took the hem of her shirt and pulled it over her head and arms. A small noise of protest was all he would hear from her, for she wouldn't physically stop him. He gazed down at the perfect swells of her chest, pink buttons tightening in the air and inviting him to play.

Her arms shrank back down, crossing over her chest in humiliation, only to have him pull them down to lay over her waist below them. Squeezing her breasts together just enough to make a heated grunt emerge from his throat.

His mouth swooped down, lathering a peak with his velvet tongue as his lips clamped over her. Another sharp cry filled the room, and she writhed under him, clamoring to pull away. His hands flew to hers, locking them in an unmoving grip and sinking her deep into the bed with his own weight. Her gasps and defeated, quiet mewls coaxing to life a ravenous desire that had been plaguing him for far too long. The desire to make her his…give her exactly what she'd been wanting for so many years. Spread her wide and take her until she screamed his name.

His tongue circled the thin, fragile areola, and licked the stiff button that reached into the hot cavern of his mouth, shivering at his ministrations. Sakura tossed her head to the side, a heated blush washing from her cheeks down to her chest.

Her mind was torn asunder, ruined by the torment he had put her through, and now what was left of it was splintering and falling to pieces with each jolt of pleasure that danced through her. Pleasure she would have given anything for, had it been at any other time than the present. Pleasure she never imagined he would allow her, not in a million years, but pleasure she had always craved nonetheless.

His hand explored down her hip and over her pelvis, tickling along the white, lacy panties and diving without warning beneath them.

"AHH!" She cried loudly, his two fingers firmly pressing over the bundles of nerves that until now had only been touched by Naruto. Their lengths gliding then to her opening and slipping inside while his palm grinded into her clit.

"No!" She blurted suddenly as a wave of heat overcame her. "Sasuke, please!" A tear pleaded with him, trickling down a complexion that was confused with flushed desire. His two fingers pumped into her, exploring and kneading the pocket of soft flesh that was growing considerably wet.

"You want this." She heard him whisper as he suckled, moving from one pale globe to the next greedily.

"No…" A whimper argued.

"You want me… You've wanted me for so long." A dark, amused chuckle pained her ears.

"Sakura…you can't fight me. Not now." His breath flooded her ear as he moved up and kissed her cheek in mock tenderness. She felt his hand leave the crevice of her womanhood to rip the panties from her, leaving her completely bare for him.

A surge of will reawakened, sending her jerking out of his reach as she scrambled up to the top of the bed, the damp blankets scrunching down with her flailing limbs. Once his looming form had been escaped, she was about to bolt off and run, but a single word ground her to a chilling stop.

"Don't." He stared up at her darkly, intent promising a world of pain should she deny him.

A sparkle of tears welled up in her eyes, spilling over as she watched him sit up and remove his arms from the sleeves of the white robe, and begin untying the purple rope. She didn't move another muscles, despite how desperately she wanted to, and it took everything she had left.

His pants were next, and he slipped out of them with ease, discarding the pile at the foot of the bed. Her eyes fell automatically to the thick member that stood erect between his legs, and as he fell back down onto his hands and crawled towards her, she gave a strangled sob. Arms and legs crossing, she shut her eyes and pressed harder into the headboard, feeling the bed jiggle with each move he made

His mouth found her first, planting a kiss at the front of her throat and dotting more up and over her chin. Determined, cruel hands pried her open, smacking her arms against the wooden sheet behind her, and he sank into her with his bare chest. His lips caught hers in a kiss as she let out another sob, his hands petting down her sides and over her thighs, pulling her open with a complete lack of empathy.

"Shhh…" He cooed, scooping her up so he could wedge himself beneath her, and she felt his shaft press against her, trapped between his abdomen and hers with the backs of her thighs draped over his.

Sakura turned her head to the side to escape his mouth, and he let her, nestling his nose into her hair and breathing down her neck as he inhaled deeply, a wicked smirk upon his lips. His hand took hers and guided it down between them, wrapping it around his length so he could pump into her palm with a groan. Pushing and pulling over him, she sensed the heat rise between her legs, and mewled in embarrassment as the first drop of pre-cum smeared into her hand.

"I _will_ have you." His husky voice turned into her ear as he nuzzled. His motions were softer than they should be. Everything he was doing was a show, and it had her tensing for the reality that she was waiting to hit her…and it would, soon. She could feel it coming.

Hand releasing hers, letting her pull away and clench her moist palm to the headboard at her side, she felt his spread over the shallow slope of her belly again, thumb stroking her.

"You will bleedbefore I'm done with you… And after you bleed, I will _ravage_ you..again, and again…until you're too weak to stand." Laced with as much anger as it was lust, his tone was enough to break her into a wailing mess as she fell limp against him.

"No!" She shouted abruptly as she was hoisted into the air quickly, arms whipping from her sides to claw into his shoulders, but she couldn't move. She couldn't stop him. Crying out loudly as he slammed her down onto him, he buried himself within her depths with a groan of satisfaction. The initial shock of pain and pleasure swirled uncertainly through her womb, legs wrapping instinctively around his waist as he began with rough, dominating thrusts. There was nothing she could do in her exhausted state but to hold on to him.

Arms coiling around his back as her knees hugged his bucking hips, her head lowered in resignation to his shoulder, face hiding itself in the crook his neck as she felt a hand mesh up into her hair and clench, his mouth kissing and nipping her neck like a starved beast.

She would have cried less, really, but it just felt so good, and that's why the tears wouldn't stop. They left her vision permanently blurry and dripped over his flawless, creamy skin, gliding from his neck and shoulder down the front of his perfectly toned chest. He was oblivious, or just uncaring, or maybe even getting off on it, she wasn't sure, but it did nothing to stop or even slow him down.

Her life wasn't a lie… He may have beaten those words out of her, but they weren't true. Nothing she had done, no commitments she had made were to mask a painful truth. She loved Naruto, she really did. But she couldn't ignore what Sasuke was doing to her. Somehow he had managed to rip her in pieces, make her soul want to crawl out of its own body just to evade him, and then he brought her tumbling down into a mess of shameful, passionate bliss. No…she couldn't deny that she wanted him, and yes…she always had. But not like this. Never like this. This was more than corrupted. He was not the man she had loved all those years ago. He was _sick_.

Her cum dripped down the muscular curve of his inner thighs, drenching him and soaking into the pillow they were propped on top of. His hands caressed down her back, slick with sweat, and over the slope of her ass, gripping into her as her pounded. It wasn't just rough, it was forceful and unforgiving. It was as if he wanted to damage her. But as much pain as she felt hammering inside her, spreading into an intensifying ache, it made her quiver against him and moan regrettably in between sobs.

The build of pleasure haunted her with the promise of euphoria to come, and the utter defeat it would strangle her with to follow, sucking out every last drop of dignity she possessed.

It was unavoidable though, and as her first orgasm seized her into a chorus of gasping moans and cries of his name, she immediately felt as if she had been punched in the gut.

But he didn't stop, and he warded off his own release with a pause every time he felt himself drawing too close. His hips would slow or stop and he would grip onto her, panting heavily into her neck as she weakly clung to him. Occasionally fondling the sharp peaks of her soft swells with his skilled hands.

When he finally did come, a surge of stinging, raw heat invaded her with a particularly violent thrust, and he held himself inside her for several minutes, catching his breath and keeping her caged in his embrace.

Remnants of his seed dripped from between her lips as he would eventually shift them both from the smooth headboard, now coated in perspiration, to lay her flat on the bed and kiss greedily down her neck and collarbone to her chest.

She was motionless, letting him move and touch her as he demanded with swollen, red eyelids that provided a stark contrast to the pale green, sorrow-filled irises giving a deadened stare up to the ceiling past him.

Her senses were not immune, even after she felt she would pass out soon whether or not he was finished with her. They flickered alight with every stroke, kiss, and suckle he let wander over her submitting form.

His hands would gently massage her swollen lips until she moaned for him, and dip inside her to hook and press into her most sensitive spot, causing her to buck up into him and cry out.

Then, he would take her all over again with the speed and ferocity he'd given her in his initial assault. The pleasure always came back, but with each thrust, the pain began to overshadow it more and more.

Three orgasms were forced from her before her body gave in and her eyes fell shut a final time, even as he continued pounding into her with her legs hooked over his shoulders. Her world phased into darkness.

A dreamless abyss stole her from his grip, putting an end to the torture that had begun hours ago. She didn't even have the sense to wonder what would await her when she next awoke, all she wanted, all she could think about, was the end.

* * *

The main double doors slid apart, letting the first early morning rays of sunlight peak into the house. The silhouette of spiky blonde hair and a slouched, tired form stepping into view to disrupt the golden glow, before the door were shut with a slap behind him, sealing out the bright invasion. Naruto's bright blue eyes skimmed with disinterest over the hardwood floor as he floated like a ghost through the entrance and down the hall to their room.

Bed…sleep…ramen… That's all he wanted. He'd been up half the night, and asleep the other half with his face planted into a scroll that was now in need of replacing. Seriously, who knew he could drool so much? One of these days he would learn to actually go _home_ before he fell asleep. One day…

He grunted, rubbing the back of his strained neck as he moved down the hall. Ramen would have to wait for once. He could barely keep his eyes open.

As he was used to doing, his hand slid open the door to the bedroom, moving extra quiet and stealthy so as not to wake the petite little pink-haired beauty that would be curled up on the side of their bed…the beauty that routinely turned beast whenever he woke her from a deep slumber with his clumsy feet.

"OW!" He yelled suddenly, stubbing his toe on the edge of the bed as he moved towards it in the dark room. A hand quickly slapped over his loud mouth, and he braced himself. Waiting for the snarl, the throw of a pillow, the yell of his nickname, Baka. But it didn't come. Silence met him.

With a sigh of relief, he stripped down to his pants and crawled in next to the lifeless body. The body that was bright enough for him to see in the darkness, which was unusual.

Naruto blinked curiously, struggling to focus his tired eyes on the mass of disheveled pink hair that fanned over a crooked pillow, and on down her neck, bare chest, bare waist, bare—wait, she was naked?

Blinking a couple more times, he leaned over her, a smirk nipping at the corner of his mouth mischievously. Well…this was a treat.

He shifted, setting a hand between her bare knees and crawling over her snoozing form sprawled on her back, only to freeze.

Wet… His hand...was wet…

Eyes snapping down at the spot on the mattress his hand was propped on, he bowed his head and sniffed curiously at the large, dark blotch that pooled in a sloppy circle between Sakura's legs. A nose-full of blood wafted up into his face, a scent he was all too familiar with from his many battles, and his eyes doubled in size immediately.

"SAKURA?" He wailed in horror, hopping up her torso and grabbing her jaw in his hand, turning her face to his. She didn't answer him, though her chest continued to rise and fall slowly, signaling the sliver of life that was left in her. But her eyes, he noticed, had been replaced with bright red welts, swollen shut, and the scent of sweat and sex rose up around him…from everywhere. The headboard, the blankets, her, it was suffocating as he drew down to her level.

In a flash, he jumped from the bed, wrapped her up in the stained blanket she was draped recklessly over, and sprinted out of the room and through the house.

Rage. Pure, unbridled rage overcame him, rivaled only by a sinking fear as he tried to put the limited pieces together. Someone had done this to her. Someone that was strong, skilled… Who? There was no time. She wasn't responding. He had to get her to the hospital as fast as his feet could carry them both.

Tears crept up in his eyes as his blurred form streaked through the streets, shouting at everyone to get out of his way with the most impolite words as he closed in on their destination. Her body dangled and jarred with his movements, showing no resistance even as her eyes eventually cracked open and stared at the indistinguishable mass of the ground jostling over his shoulder.

She couldn't focus. She couldn't see. Everything was blotches of color. "Nnnn…Naru-….?" Her frail voice called, too exhausted to even finish his name.

"Sakura! What happened?" He yelled frantically, teeth gritting as his hold tightened possessively around her. The appalled, alarmed, and horrified looks he was receiving as he barreled past everyone went unnoticed.

"S-…S-…..Sasuke…..he….." He lids fell closed again, unconsciousness reclaiming her.

* * *

A deep, rumbling echo haunted through the maze of trees, barely a kilometer from the Leaf Village. A flurry of startled birds exploded into the air from the branches above his head and into the damp morning air as Sasuke paused. Feet planted on the thick branch with a hand braced on the trunk, his head turned ever so slightly as he listened.

A sound so loud, yet so distant… A sound with syllables that could have formed his own name. A sound that, as menacing and dark as it was, forced a smile that was just as menacing and dark to spread wide across his tired face, caked with dried, salty sweat.

This was only the beginning.


	2. Deception

**_A/N: _**_Somewhere_ _ this chapter I briefly imply that Naruto still doesn't have complete control over Kurama. _Please ignore that._ A friend of mine pointed out that error to me...I just haven't changed it. Unfortunately, he's too busy lately to continue proof-reading (he keeps pace with the manga, unlike me), so I apologize for any other character flaws you may come across._

* * *

The silence was eerie. Not a chirp, nor a whisper, nor the clash of kunai as the group darted from branch to branch through Fire Country, drifting farther from Konoha with each leap. The clap of shoes against wood and a gentle breeze rustling the leaves around them providing the only sound. Pakkun lead the way with a look of calm determination, the same look that Kakashi, Gai, Sai, Neji, Tenten, and Rock Lee struggled to keep as they followed along. The small dog's nose was trained on Naruto, twitching as he followed their young Hokage's scent deep into the unknown, as fast as his furry paws could carry him.

No one that knew Naruto could truly be surprised by his actions...blindly racing after Sasuke the moment he was sure Sakura was stabilized and in safe hands at the hospital. Did he even know which direction his former teammate, and now, regrettably, bitter rival had ran off? It didn't matter. With the heightened senses of his sage mode, he would find him. Even without them, he had proven countless times already that where there was a will, there was a way. This time, his will was fueled by the purest rage and pain, enough that he struggled to keep his common sense. His emotions dominated him and guided him recklessly to hunt down his target.

The fact that Sasuke, the man he vowed never to give up on, and always to protect-especially from the destructive Uchiha himself-to the best of his ability, had penetrated his own village without his knowledge was a wound in and of itself. But to realize that the man he would always consider a brother had ruthlessly attacked his wife, who loved him as much as Naruto did, _right under his nose_...that was salt in the wound.

It hadn't taken long for word to spread through the village. Given that many had seen the blonde sprinting through the streets, clutching onto his bundled up wife, the rumors and inquiries spread like wildfire. Most didn't have a full understanding of what happened. Not even Kakashi and Gai knew. But the second the hospital staff uttered Sasuke and Naruto in the same breath, they were soaring after him.

With little warning, Pakkun halted on a branch, his followers lining up next to him quietly. Ears straining, eyes flickering, waiting for a sign of life, or the next cue from their guide. Kakashi's dark eye watched the dog, noting the tense posture.

"This isn't good." Pakkun grumbled softly.

"It doesn't feel right."

"What is it?" Kakashi asked, expertly hiding his worry and uncertainty.

"I don't know. It just doesn't feel right. Can you sense it...? Something big is-"

"Yeah, it's probably _Naruto_." Tenten snorted.

Silently, everyone focused even harder. The air was still. The lack of sound, though unsettling, was a blessing in disguise, honestly. To them, it meant that Naruto most likely hadn't caught up with Sasuke. Hopefully. Then again, perhaps they were so far behind that they were already too late to intervene.

"Hm." Kakashi mused, too distracted by a general wariness to pinpoint the cause of the pug's suspicion. This was an all-around ominous situation. Of course it wasn't going to feel right, neh?

"This way." The dog turned and leapt, setting the pace again as they shifted direction slightly.

A haunting roar shook through the trees, shimmering into their very flesh only moments later. All of them jerked to a startled stop, Pakkun's ears pricking up as he focused into the distance. Nothing could be seen through the trees, but they weren't far.

Kakashi darted past his companion, taking the lead. There was no mistake. It belonged to Naruto, despite how inhuman it sounded.

The Hyūga's eyes stared past Kakashi, veins bulging as he sought out the chakra shapes ahead, piercing through the enshrouding forest. He swore under his breath, but no one needed to ask why. They would see for themselves soon enough the living volcano that awaited them.

Waves of transparent reddish-orange rippled over him, the destructive energy of Kurama leaking to the surface with a boiling aura. It churned and pulsed with pure, unrelenting hostility, threatening to break free and overcome their Hokage at the slightest weakness it could find. But there was none, yet. His rage had been contained well enough to maintain control over the demon, his patience matching his strength for once, even as his eyes creased and his mouth broke with a quivering snarl. Hopefully it would last.

The group, lead by Kakashi, paused in a line as they dropped to the forest floor, at the edge of a field that expanded almost as wide as Neji's Byakugan could reach. There was the faint sound of stretching, straining bandages as Lee's fists squeezed at his sides, ready to break into action at the sight before them.

Naruto, drenched in sweat and dirt, yet not a sign of blood, panted quietly in the middle of the field, with Sasuke a few comfortable meters away. Patches of disturbed earth billowed their smoldering, dusty debris slowly in the weak wind. Craters, big and small, dotted the land all around them, charred streaks of burnt grass weaving around and through them. A massive boulder that looked to have been lifted from the submerged depths of the earth sat awkwardly, close to the tree-line, with a trail of barren brown soil fanning behind it. They had arrived a bit late, after all.

Pakkun was trained on Sasuke, whose black, lifeless eyes ignored him for Naruto. As cold and unforgiving as the Uchiha had always been, he somehow seemed...different, now. Somehow more...robotic? He showed no emotion. No scowl, no smirk, not even a hint of fatigue as he stood there, a single bead of seat rolling down the side of his jaw.

"...It just doesn't feel right... We shouldn't be here." The pug nearly whispered in awe, ears pricked up.

Before Kakashi could inquire, Lee's voice erupted furiously next to him. "Of course we should! Naruto needs us!" His fists shook, and Gai slapped a firm hand on the younger man's shoulder, reigning him in place. Tenten watched them from the corner of her eye, her own hand clamped tightly around a scroll that undoubtedly harbored a hideous stash of weapons all shapes and sizes.

"Naruto doesn't need you to act rashly, Lee." Gai spoke solemnly, his own demeanor as calm, but secretly just as worried as Kakashi's.

"Neji, what do you see?" The pug asked.

"The chakra...it's..it's everywhere." Neji murmured, overwhelmed by the mass that was invisible to everyone else. It hovered like a thunder cloud, churning and bulging around Naruto in its center. Beyond him, Sasuke's was smaller, and appeared more docile and reserved. It was his true signature, and yet somehow, just like the Uchiha's demeanor, it was slightly different.

"He's somehow connected to the ground."

"Naruto?"

"No, Sasuke. His chakra is stemming down into the ground." Neji confirmed, and the pug grunted in response.

"Be on your guard. We don't know what he has up his sleeve."

"We're alone?" Kakashi asked.

Pakkun and Neji both nodded.

The copy-nin pulled his forehead protector up, revealing the sharingan within his scarred eye.

"She didn't deserve what you did...she didn't _deserve_ _it_.." He panted, teeth clenching enough to ache his jaw. His eyes, slit horizontally with his sage mode, glared at the Uchiha. "All she ever did was love you...and all you do is STARE!" A roar that seemed to come from his very chakra shook the ground as he bolted for him. Cracking in his frustration. Sasuke hadn't spoken once since he'd caught up with him. Not a single word. He'd been nothing but a stony statue, dodging every single attack with an ease and disgusting indifference that sent Naruto into a rage he was still in danger of losing control over.

"Why! Tell me why, Sasuke!" Shadow clones blinked into existence behind his sprint, tailing him and quickly growing too numerous for anyone to count. His speed blurred everything around him into a senseless smudge, everything but him, with those hollow black pits and flawless, white, emotionless expression.

"Why did you come all the way here just to torture her?!" The glowing, swirling orb of his Rasengan lashed for Sasuke, but there was no block or counterattack. Not even his Chidori, which Naruto half expected to be met with. Again, the Uchiha simply dodged out of the way at the last second, barreling through multiple shadow clones that launched towards him from all directions with their own Rasengans, attempting to trap him. His gleaming sword flashing reflectively, slicing through one clone after another like butter.

With every puff of smoke, another seemed to appear in its place, until the field was swimming with charging and leaping clones, all bearing the same determination and pained look on their faces. Jagged, electric whips encased him as he paused, letting the currents dance around him in a protective cage that struck out and dissipated every clone it touched, others bolting through the earth and striking up a distance away. Then came the electric needles, fanning out and piercing through the waves of unrelenting clones that replenished the others.

Using his distraction, Naruto's form emerged through the popping crowd of clones behind him, using his Frog Kata to increase his already immeasurable speed. A fist fused with natural energy aimed for Sasuke's lower back, but still the Uchiha seemed to know wherever he was at any given moment, and leapt out of the way, bouncing from one blonde head to the next, each clone popping under the strike of his heels.

"He's toying with him. Look!" Lee growled heatedly while the others looked on...except for Sai, who was busy painting. Pakkun grunted in agreement.

"Kakashi?" Gai ventured, eyeing the copy-nin's sharingan that was trained on the battle.

"Sai and Neji, come with me. The rest of you, wait for my signal."

They nodded, Gai keeping his hand on Lee's shoulder in a reassuring grip. The man was nearly bursting at the seams, in about as much rage as Naruto himself as he watched helplessly.

Neji sprinted through the mass of clones, bumping past and darting through as he followed Sasuke. Overhead, a small flock of black and white painted hawks soared, the explosive tags attached to them whipping furiously behind their tail feathers. One of them dove down, aiming for Sasuke's chest, but he jumped back just in time. The explosion ripped through, snuffing out a couple dozen more clones.

Before Sasuke could land on another head, Neji had skid close enough for his Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm, striking his palm through the air. The force struck him, though he was still several feet away, and sent him careening through another batch of clones, bursting through them like bowling pins.

Rather than surprise or irritation, only the vaguest look of curiosity gave life on his pale face. In the next instant, he was back on his feet with little more than a brief wince, sliding out of the path of another clone's Rasengan like this was nothing but a practiced dance that he'd done a thousand times over.

Until a hand shot up from the ground itself, nearly snatching his ankle and dragging him under. Sasuke was one step ahead again, jumping into the air and out of reach with Kakashi launching up after him. Another painted hawk swooped down for him, only to burst into flames and explode prematurely, ignited by a blast of fire from his mouth as he continued soaring upward.

Kakashi's heel streaked past his face, narrowly missing his jaw. A punch aimed for his gut was blocked, and Sasuke kicked off his chest and landed back on the ground, a ring of fire rising up around him, and the cage of electricity returning.

"Stop messing around already! You think this is a game?!" Naruto yelled, unsure how much more of this nonsense he could take. It wasn't the fact that he was so hard to catch, it was that he refused to actually fight, reacting only in defense. He did nothing but hop and slide around like an ass, mocking them.

Kakashi landed, flashing through hand seals to release a massive drill-shaped body of water that disappeared under the ground and reappeared beneath Sasuke, dousing the flames that fanned around him and spiking him back into the air. The lightning expanded through it, dancing erratically within the water, and he used it to strike a wild bolt that was much thicker and brighter than the rest at Neji. The Hyūga came to an abrupt, violent halt as the energy paralyzed and ripped through him like fire. Sasuke had just enough time then to turn his head and meet Naruto's foot, which made contact, finally, in a spinning back kick infused with wind energy.

There was a sickening crack, as if his neck had been broken, and the stoic Uchiha crashed to the earth. His limbs were bound instantly with painted snakes that emerged from seemingly nowhere, coiling and tangling around him, keeping him still. When his black eyes reopened, two glowing Rasengan smashed down into his chest as Naruto landed on him. Blood gushed from his mouth, his eyes widening at the impact, before drooping as he coughed violently. Without bothering to try and move, he stared up at the eyes of the toad sage, glittering with angry, heated tears. The faintest smirk formed...mocking him, even as he lay seemingly defeated.

"This time, I'm taking you back to Konoha with me." A growling whisper insisted, even as a small voice nagged in the back of his mind, warning him that this had been too easy...that Sasuke would never be caught like this, even with so many against one.

"Hmmm...you _are_ predictable." He hummed serenely after another bloody cough, as if he hadn't a care in the world. Naruto's eyes widened down at him, in shock both at his tone of voice, and chosen words...the first words he had spoken.

Sasuke's smirk broke into a full smile as he began coughing again between his words, "He-...he's already there..Naruto..."

The look of surprised horror struck them all unanimously, from Sai's seated position on his massive circling hawk above, to their back-up waiting patiently at the forest's edge, as the face of Sasuke began to melt into something grotesque and indistinguishable, at first.

The pale complexion bleached even whiter, his black hair shortened, and his body shifted slightly into a different form beneath the Hokage like soft clay. The eyes were replaced with a vibrant yellow, and the short-chopped hair faded into a grassy green.

Naruto's mouth gaped as he stared down at the white Zetsu clone, hands trembling, eyes flickering back and forth as he tried to understand what had just happened.

Neji, who had stumbled back to his feet, stood in equal, appalled shock. Sasuke's chakra had morphed just as his body did, returning on the unique traits of the clone's.

Pakkun would have paled, if he hadn't been covered in fur. The distinct scent he had been tracking, and the distinct energy Naruto had been tracking, had all changed in the blink of an eye.

"Naruto..." Kakashi's voice, laced with a sinking dread, seemed miles away as the blonde struggled within his paralyzed stare down at the strange creation he was pinning to the earth.

A frantic, hate-filled scream erupted from him finally, and his fists flew with a blinding speed at the clone's face. Smashing, ripping, pummeling him into literal goo.

"I knew it... I knew something was wrong.. I couldn't explain it. I just..." The pug faced Gai, wincing against the sound, and beheld the terror and confusion and anger that overcame everyone. Lee had tears in his eyes, his fists still shaking. Tenten gasped, nearly dropping her scroll full of weapons. Gai suddenly looked to be more fearful than anything else.

The hawk landed next to Kakashi at Sai's command, and he leapt down from the bird. "What did he say? I couldn't hear."

"We need to get back to Konoha, now." Kakashi ordered sternly, eyes narrowing as his mind raced. Sai nodded and pulled out his scroll to begin painting something, not bothering to ask why yet. The bird next to them was dismissed with a splash of dissolving ink.

"Naruto." He called louder once the screaming stopped, and his wailing fists fell a final time into the now featureless blob of white smudged into the dented ground. He panted over him, eyes cringing shut as he grit his teeth.

"This was a diversion!" Gai's voice boomed urgently as he ran up to them, Tenten, Lee, and Pakkun close behind. The pug nodded warily. Kakashi glanced to them knowingly as Naruto stilled suddenly beneath his hand. A hurricane of foreboding implications slammed into him once his raging emotions lost their steam, and he could begin to think clearly again.

He stood up and took one hard look at Kakashi, realization dawning on him.

* * *

Prying her reluctant, exhausted eyes open to gaze dazedly at the curtained window to her right, Sakura hovered weakly between consciousness and sleep. She didn't know what it was that roused her...she just felt something vaguely alarming that she couldn't quite put her finger on.

As her senses adjusted to her surroundings, sluggishly making sense of the IV drip hanging close to her bed, and the quiet beep of the heart monitor somewhere to her left, flashes of memories began to surface. Sasuke...his hours of torture...how badly her eyes burned, when she couldn't stop crying...then suddenly being dashed through the streets in Naruto's arms, feeling cold and uncomfortable.

It was so quiet...so dark. The lights had been turned off, and the room was empty except for her. They'd left her there to rest peacefully, so it seemed. A digital clock on a nearby shelf read half past ten in the morning. No wonder she was still so groggy. And why...why was she awake?

Then, the third shockwave reached her ears. Sakura's jade eyes widened slightly, instinctively becoming more focused when the sound, and thick vibration, found her.

Rising cautiously from the plain white pillow, she sat up in bed, noting in the back of her mind that she'd been thoroughly cleaned, from her long pink hair down to her feet. The pain still haunted her, though. That wasn't something that could be washed away. The physical ache, though it would soon heal as well...it was still nothing compared to the emotional pain that she knew would linger. But she couldn't think about that now. Rather, she didn't want to...

She swayed slightly, nausea creeping within her sore gut. Everything hurt. Everything was just...miserable. And Naruto, where was he? Why wasn't he with her?

A hand strayed to her belly, rubbing it lightly through the unflattering, white hospital gown the nurses had dressed her in while she was unconscious. She looked down at herself, feeling something was somehow different. Somehow..empty, and lonely.

Another boom, followed by a loud crash that came from outside, close to the building, ripped Sakura from her confused wonderings and back into reality. Her face jerked in the direction of the window, the fog of her mind still clouding her senses somewhat. What in the hell was going on out there?

Bare feet reached the cold, shining floor, and she hobbled with shaking, drunk knees towards the shining splinter of light that reached through the closed curtains. A hand outstretched to grab the fabric, but she winced before she could reach it, and looked down to see the IV tube sticking in her arm. Against her better judgment, especially as a medic, she pulled the tube out impatiently, letting it drop to the floor.

The curtains were flung open, and she stumbled forward to brace herself on the window sill, pained eyes blinking into the blinding sunlight that bathed her. When they adjusted, and brought into focus the patches of flames, columns of smoke and drifting dust, it was all she could do to keep herself upright.

Down below, people scurried about...running for their very lives through the streets, some dodging into buildings, other bursting out. It only took her a few seconds to spot three Anbu sprawled in bloody, lifeless heaps amongst them. Their distant, muffled screams and shouts beat against the glass shielding her.

"Naruto..." She whispered quietly, fear and confusion quickly overwhelming her.

In the distance, the head of a massive purple snake with bright green eyes reared above the tops of the buildings, tongue flickering and fangs poised as it sought out its next target.

Sakura found herself backing slowly away from the window, shivering as the scene unfolded, the screams continuing outside as the fires spread, and more Anbu shouted to each other as they ran across the roofs.. This was a dream. Everything was just a terrible dream. Something like this could never happen, not with Naruto around.

Her hands raked up into her hair and clutched fists of pink, framing her face as she gaped in disbelief.

A rush of screams echoed down the hospital halls behind her, and she spun on her feet, staring at the closed door to her dark room. Nothing had touched their building yet...had it? She hadn't felt it shake. But the screams grew louder, filtering closer, and one of them in particular made the hair on her arms stand on end. It was Ino, shrieking and cursing like a madwoman.

"Sakura! No!"

Sakura rushed past the bed for the door, ready to fling it open and rush out to find her frantic childhood friend. Yet it opened for her with a rush of cool air as she was about to grab the knob, but it wasn't Ino that greeted her.

Her heart nearly stopped as she choked on a scream, staring up into the masked silhouette that stood in the doorway, light filtering in from the hall around him. One glowing, red Sharingan and one violet, ringed Rinnegan staring down at her.

"Haruno Sakura?" The deep voiced asked calmly. Ino's flailing form passed straight through his body in a futile attempt to tackle him, yet he stood there completely unaffected while the girl crashed to the ground out of sight, cursing harshly. If it had been at any other time, in any other situation, Sakura would have laughed, but she couldn't take her eyes off the Uchiha before her, or find her own voice.

As she staggered away from him, the very fabric of reality began to shift and swirl. Bands of black stretched out and twirled, creating a vortex that sucked her back towards him. If she'd had control of her own limbs, she would have turned and ran for the window, smashing through it even to fall the several stories to the ground below, and the chaos that came with it, but it was already too late. The swirl of darkness expanded and engulfed, silencing everything as she was teleported into an inescapable realm.

* * *

**A/N: **_So, there you have it. I'm not very impressed with it, myself. I feel there should be more details, more...*stuff*...that I need to add._

_But for now, it's done...and I need a nap._

_Once again, comments are appreciated. I do pay attention to suggestions and criticisms, if you feel inclined to leave them._


	3. Eye For An Eye

_**A/N:**__ This chapter is largely from Sasuke's POV, as per request from a couple of readers. With that being said...sit back and enjoy the entropy. And angst. Lots of angst. Because it's Sasuke...and let's face it, he's batshit crazy and evil at this point._

_I also have invented some of my own techniques, because I'm tired of researching everything. So if you see something that makes you stop and think 'wtf?', that's why. They won't be too extraordinary, though. I think... _

_I might be lying._

**_Edit: _**_I was posed a few questions by a reader that made me realize I should probably clue you guys in on some things before you continue past the second chapter._

_1) This story takes place during the war._

_2) Everyone knows that Tobi is actually Obito._

_3) Madara is alive, although the Allied Shinobi Forces are not aware...yet._

_4) Kabuto is teaming up with Tobi, and has all of his lovely undead puppets up his sleeve...and he is itching to play with them. No, not that like, you perverts. Anyway...*cough*_

_5) I really want some sake right now._

_6) There will likely be some character deaths in the upcoming chapters._

_7) Sasuke has lost his last marble, and he's never getting it back. But you all knew that already._

_8) Sasuke is also teaming up with Tobi, because...well, "Some people just want to watch the world burn"._

_If you have any more questions, feel free to ask._

* * *

The flames roared behind him, a wall of moving shadows that devoured everything in its path. The mound of rubble had been reduced to crumbs and ash in a matter of minutes, and even that, too, was being eaten away into nothing...taking with it the remnants of the last kanji identifying Konoha's academy, and the Hokage's office. The black void shifted and danced high into the air, spreading slowly outward towards the surrounding buildings to ignite them in a mask of darkness. A darkness that enshrouded and dissolved everything it touched, a darkness that could not be extinguished, bred only to raze endlessly...just like him. A perfect, physical manifestation of the ceaseless, festering hatred that consumed his soul, and became only more violent and unforgiving as time passed. More deadly and impossible by the second.

The screams... They were everywhere. Shrill and full of panic, confusion, and hopelessness. Surrounding him and blurring into a chorus of noise that rose above the sound of the midnight Amaterasu at his back.

And yet, it wasn't enough.

When he had killed Itachi, he thought it would be enough. But it wasn't... He had felt nothing but confusion and emptiness—an even deeper sense of isolation, when he fell before him. Then he had learned the truth through Tobi, and the hatred had returned in full force, seeding him with a rage and pain that others wouldn't have had the strength to endure.

When he had killed Danzo, he thought it would be enough. But it wasn't... Even striking down the bastard solely responsible for the slaughter of his clan, and the defamation of his brother—who he had loved, and then hated, more than life itself—hadn't made him feel better. The hatred and pain only intensified when he had revealed his bandaged arm full of sharingans. The coward... Looking back, he regretted killing him so quickly. Danzo deserved a fate far worse than he had been dealt.

That's when he decided Konoha had to be destroyed. He would never be able to rest until the village hidden in the leaves, his own home that had turned against him and his family, was reduced to a barren wasteland.

And it was coming to fruition right before his eyes.

So why wasn't it enough? What was left?

Naruto... It must be him. He'd never liked him. From day one, he'd been nothing more than an ignorant, fiery nuisance. Always getting in his way and trying to surpass him. Always craving attention. A living, breathing joke... He could never even match him. And now here he was, acting so high and mighty, like he was some kind of hero. He'd been just like Sakura, doing everything in his power to prevent him from reaching his goals. Always begging him to stop, to come home...

Two things Sasuke had never imagined would happen had come true. He had come home...and Naruto had become the newest Hokage of Konoha, after all.

The Hokage of rubble, now.

He would remain until the end, when the final wisp of ash dissipated in the flames, and the final heart lost its rhythm. Only then would he be satisfied. Even if it took days to finish, he wouldn't sleep or eat until Konaha was erased.

And oh... He couldn't wait to see the look on that blond brat's face when he returned to his kingdom of chaos. Until then, he would paint a canvas of blood and tears with the brush of his hatred.

But he wouldn't kill him yet. No, not even if he admitted his fatal flaws and regrets for everyone to hear, and bowed before him, begging forgiveness and an end to his own pitiful existence. Not while he had his beloved Sakura to dangle in front of him...

A broad grin, wicked as it was deranged, answered the horrified faces that flitted about and retreated from him as he moved away from the burning tome of the academy, bits of blown debris and mangled, bloody chunks of human flesh crunching under his feet. The flesh of innumerable young shinobi that hadn't stood a chance against him.

He felt rather than heard them. The three ANBU that dropped down behind him, crouching before the wall of fire. But he didn't turn to face them. Two leaped for him silently while the other flipped through hand signs, and all were simultaneously whisked away as a wall of purple blurred past, grinding through gravel and dust with a loud hiss of speed.

The Manda clone crashed through a building, burrowing into the side and striking up through the roof, sending more chunks of rock and screaming villages fanning out in all directions. A twisted, severed ANBU arm dripped blood from the side of it's fanged mouth as its head swiveled, searching for its next target indiscriminately.

A Genin clung to a shrieking infant, huddling under a shattered window and staring in paralyzed fear as Sasuke wandered past, ignoring them as he spotted a vaguely familiar face ahead. Through the maze of trash and bodies, burning both with flames of orange and black, sprinted a woman heading straight for him. The grey plumes of smoke swirled around her as she darted through, and skid to a stop a few meters in front of him. Panting, covered in sweat and smudged with soot, Ino gave him an exhausted, incredulous look.

"Where is she?! What did he do to her?!" She shouted at him, and by the sound of her commanding voice, she apparently expected an honest reply.

He kept his methodical pace, calm steps navigating the littered ground as his sharingan stared back at her. His eyes held an eerie lifelessness, despite the crazed smile on his face. He said nothing, and watched as her eyes searched him desperately. Trying to understand him, and scrambling to figure out what she should do. He could read her as easily as an open book, just like Sakura. She was weak. They all were... Every last one of them. That was because they cared. He had been like them once, when he was young. But he learned from his mistakes, and he grew stronger.

They fought to preserve something that was no longer theirs. Their village, their friends, their families—they were all his now. His to take and demolish at will. They didn't understand yet, but they would soon...for it was his right.

They had all watched as he lost everything he cared for, hadn't they... Now it was his turn.

"STOP!" Ino shouted, and it was then that he noticed her hair had fallen from its usually well-kept ponytail. It hung long and loose around her, dissheveled and dirty, and some of it looked to have been ripped out, or singed away. Her purple outfit was marred with black, brown, and crimson, and dried blood caked her hands and knees.

It was as if he couldn't hear her, or even see her, as he appeared to gaze straight through her. Like a mindless corpse that couldn't communicate, he moved ever onward with a single purpose. But he could see... He could see her, and he could think and feel far more than she ever could. She just couldn't comprehend him. No one could. Not even Tobi or Madara. And he had no desire to help them understand. They weren't capable, anyway.

"Don't make me do this..." She hissed with certainty, legs shifting wider into a different stance, hands rising to form a seal close to her chest. He could ignore her if he wanted to, but if it came down to it, she'd kill him the first chance she got...or die trying. He was nothing more to her now than a heartless murderer, and she wouldn't stand by and watch any more of her friends fall at his hands.

He paused mid-stride, and the two met at a silent standstill as a breeze wafted a cloud of smoke between their determined forms. What he couldn't see, but felt, was the extending shadow of Shikamaru, latching to his planted heel and rendering him immobile.

"You can't reason with him, Ino." Her partner warned her sternly. Sasuke's smile was frozen, along with the rest of his body, as he continued to stare at her hypnotically. The blue eyes that stared back seemed as hollow as his, and neither one of them blinked nor spoke as the seconds crept by.

Shikamaru's eyes narrowed at them from his safe vantage point, the silence quickly becoming ominous as he peered over Sasuke's shoulder at her, witnessing a strange mix of determination and terror stuck on her statuesque face. Another gust of wind whipped long locks of pale blond over her, brushing along her eyes and nose, left unattended as he blinked.

"Ino..." He called louder, curiously, while his ears strained to detect any potential danger approaching his back or sides. He could hear the distant crashing of Manda reeking havoc, and the shouts of nearby villagers, but nothing else.

Then she fell to the ground, features alighting in a contortion of agony as she screamed loud enough to hurt his ears, and send a cold chill creeping through him. She flailed, twisted and turned, clawing and swiping at herself like a lunatic as if she was covered in something that he couldn't see...as if she was burning alive.

"INO!" Shouting in a panic, she didn't seem to hear him as she writhed, mindless of the bits of glass and concrete that dug into her. He felt the hold of his shadow technique snap free, leaving Sasuke to turn around and greet him with the star-like patterns of his eternal mangekyo.

He was fast. As fast as the lightning he used to send down the length of a chained blade that sheathed into his chest and threw him backwards, crashing into a chunk of broken wall, and pinning him to it like an insect on display. Bolts of neon blue and white fluttered down the length of the chain and into his chest to expand throughout his limbs, seizing him stiffly as waves of searing energy rippled into him.

The grip on the chain tightened as electricity danced from his fingertips, and Sasuke yanked the blade free from his chest. A gurgling cry of pain followed as blood seeped past his clenched teeth, and air bubbles emerged from the slit in his chest as he inhaled raggedly. His cringing eyes opened just in time to see the electric blade sailing back towards him like a whip, aiming for his throat, and he forced himself to lurch from the slab of concrete and to the ground, landing on his hands and knees. Sparks flew from the surface, leaving a deep gash in its wake.

A tentacle of living shadow shot forward, wrapping around the chain at the base of the blade while it swung in mid-air, and tugged it swiftly forward. Sasuke came with it, both of his hands snagging at the chain that originated from somewhere up his sleeve. He could have released it, but it made for the perfect counter-attack as he hurdled towards Shikamaru, and hit the ground with a roll. A ball of flame erupted over him, growing in size and transforming him into a giant ball of churning fire speeding in his direction.

Shikamaru slid of the way, black band of shadow retreating into him, and watched the flaming ball hit the mound of concrete. To his surprise, the head of a white snake sprang from the crackling light, poised fangs lashing for his shoulder. He ducked and punched it away, only for a second to spring forth and twist around his leg as he tried to jump back. Sasuke emerged intact from the flame, each snake extending from a sleeve, his chained blade gone.

His world was turned upside down—literally—as the coiled snake lifted him off his feet and thrashed him upside down in the air. The other curled around, trapping his arms against his side and squeezing. The distinct sounds of popping bones brought a smirk to the Uchiha's face. Another scream filled the air, but his voice was soon snuffed out as all his attention fixed on trying to inhale. Blood gushed from the wound in his chest, cascading in rivulets over the winding, pearly scales encasing him. More was forced from the corners of his mouth, as his eyes cringed shut.

He could hear the pulse throbbing in his ears as he hung there, eyes aching as they cracked back open, and vision blurring as felt the snakes that held him swaying with Sasuke's footsteps. He was moving forward with slow steps once more, confident in Shikamaru's inability to escape.

Ino had stopped flailing like a madwoman, and had fallen still in a messy, sprawled heap, aside for the occasional erratic twitch that burst from her. She was sweating profusely, something that had started the moment she fell to the ground, and her dazed, disturbed eyes stared up into the sky as she mumbled incoherently under her breath. Shikamaru stared down at her, assuming she had been tortured in Sasuske's Tsukuyomi, for lack of an explanation. He couldn't speak. It took everything he had just to keep breathing, but he formed her name mutely on his lips. If he didn't break free, and she didn't come to her senses, they were screwed. Where was Choji when you needed him?

A shockwave hit them, blowing more glass from nearby windows and sending debris scuttling across the ground. A flash of white caused the three of them to shut their eyes reflexively. When Shikamaru reopened his and looked up, he faintly saw a mass of white gliding through the sky above—er below—him. He couldn't make out what it was, but then he saw a a fist-sized white ball fall from it and drop down to the village, disappearing behind a building. Another blast followed, and this time he saw the cloud of fiery orange expand outward, much closer to them now, and the following shockwave that hit harder than the last.

Sasuke glanced up towards it indifferently. A patch of shadow blotted the sun from view as the giant clay bird soared overhead and past them, controlled by the former Akatsuki member, now glorified zombie, seated atop.

Shikamaru stared in surprise. Every time he thought he had them all accounted for, another one showed up. No wonder Konoha had turned into a war zone so fast. They had brought an arsenal of the best, enough that he couldn't keep track. First he had caught a glimpse of Tobi in the hospital, then that damned snake-freak Kabuto, then Sasuke...now Deidara? Wasn't he supposed to be dead?

He felt himself rising as Sasuke pulled him eye-level, still upside-down. He was struggling to stay conscious now, and stared at the blurry visage of the Uchiha before him.

"Who do you love, Shikamaru?" He asked calmly, releasing his grip on the Jonin enough that he could breathe more easily, and speak. "Who would you sacrifice your life to protect?"

Shikamaru grit his teeth as the tunnel vision settled in, and he vaguely registered the numbness in his arms and legs. He was so tired and cold...he just wanted to sleep. But he couldn't, he wouldn't wake if he slipped away now, and so he fought it.

"There...isn't a person in..this village...I wouldn't die to protect.." He whispered hoarsely against cracked ribs and punctured lungs, more blood seeping from his lips as he spoke.

Sasuke stared at him for a time, before smirking softly. "Today, you will watch every last one of them die."

The snakes released him, and Shikamaru fell to the ground with a thump, coughing upon impact immediately, much to the despair of his chest. The pain was blinding, stabbing him with multiple unseen blades as he fought to still his lungs. Sasuke's stepped toward Ino, her blue eyes staring through him, as if she'd been without sleep or sanity for days, despite how determined and capable she'd been moments ago.

Shikamaru's hand stretched out, scratching over the rocks as a weak shadow slithered and hooked onto Sasuke's foot again. The Uchiha swept back without a pause, kicking him in the face and flipping him over onto his back as his head banged against the ground. His vision turned white, and his equilibrium was shot, sending him tumbling through space as gravity disappeared, and darkness claimed him.

Sasuke bent low enough to grip the harmless girl by the throat, lifting her easily into the air with her feet dangling limply a few inches off the ground. He watched her face twist in pain, and her hands weakly cling to his arm as he held her. There were times like this where he felt that using his favored genjutsu was almost...cheating. Against an opponent as weak as Ino or Sakura, they could be incapacitated literally within seconds. In the words of Madara, there was no honor in it... But Sasuke hadn't cared for the ridiculous notion of honor in years.

Where was the honor in butchering his clan, and framing his brother as the mastermind behind it? Where was the honor in the lies fed to him over the years as a child?

Honor had nothing to do with this. He was giving them all what they deserved, one by one, and nothing more.

Pressing her back to the crumbling wall of a building long ravaged by chaos, a blast of white light and a sharp crack sent Ino, and the wall behind her, shattering and flailing into the darkened pile of rubble inside, burying her in a small landslide of concrete as she was thrust into it.  
Turning from the billow of dust wafting from the gaping hole in the wall, he gazed up up at the barely erect building across from him, half eaten by an earlier bomb. The familiar orange mask of Tobi stared down at him.

With a few swift leaps, he scaled the rocky shell, and landed next to him with a birds-eye view of the village around them, leveling before their very eyes. The eccentric and out-of-place black and white head of Zetsu poked up between them to observe silently and await further instructions.

"They're coming." Tobi stated coolly, turning to face the horizon, anticipating the arrival of Naruto. It was nearly impossible to sneak up on him with Zetsu at his side.

"Where's Madara?" Sasuke asked, sounding almost bored.

"Have you checked the monument lately?" The masked Uchiha inquired as easily as if they were discussing dinner plans.

Sasuke turned around to gaze up at the cliff that presented the portraits of the former—and current—Hokages. It towered high above the wall of flame that cloaked the remaining scraps of the academy. He noted the trail of bloody smudges that dotted up the zig-zagging path. The leftover tattered corpses that had tried to stop the former leader of the Uchiha clan. A heavy rumble reminiscent of an earthquake joined the sounds of war below, as a large chunk of rock broke free from the side of the cliff and tumbled down into the village, smashing into another building like a bowling ball, and demolishing it instantly. The face of Hashirama had disappeared. Left in its wake was an ugly gauge into the cliff, as if it had been hit by a meteor.

"What significance does the girl have?" Tobi's voice interrupted a pause of silence as Sasuke watched the the destruction of the cliff behind them.

"She is the Hokage's wife."

"Trivial. That's not why you want her." His clever senpai persisted.

Another moment of silence passed as the Uchihas faced opposite directions, gorging themselves on entirely different scenes of chaos and despair.

"It doesn't matter."

"Then I can get rid of her."

"No."

"..."

"...She is a tool for torment."

"His torment?"

"Mm."

"Then I can get rid of her...eventually."

"_I_ will get rid of her...eventually."

"Fine." Tobi ended with a soft sigh.

Another pause of silence. Another tumble of another boulder to smash through the village...another blast courtesy of Deidara. It was a symphony for them. Something they had both been waiting to witness for years.

The shared moment was interrupted yet again by the masked Uchiha as he pressed onward, almost teasing his younger companion.

"So long as you don't ask me to babysit."

Sasuke stiffened at his back, refusing to take the bait.

"She doesn't have child-bearing hips anyway..." The other mused quietly. No bait needed.

"I never said anything about-..." But his icy words fell away, brows knitting in impatience and irritation. He refused to humor him a second longer.

Tobi glanced over his shoulder briefly, before turning to his view, a smirk hiding beneath his mask.

"Did you still want to try that new technique?" In reply, the youngest Uchiha spread his arms out on either side of him, summoning the raging flames of Amaterasu. The wall of black had spread across several blocks already, stealing away the years of labor and love that had been put into building Konoha, charring it until nothing was left but vacant space. Like a black hole. At his command, they ceased their destruction and drifted through the air, patches of rolling, swirling black colliding to form a massive blanket of flame hovering over the village, covering the sun and shrouding them all in darkness like an ominous cloud.

Tobi looked up and cocked his head as the heat bore down on them. He formed a hand sign, instantly conjuring up a surge of wind to rip through them. It picked up speed quickly, twirling debris and knocking over anyone that tried to run through the streets.

The wall of searing black overhead began to take shape, twisting down at the guidance of the wind, like a black claw curling and reaching for the ground. A sliver at first, but it amassed steadily into a broad, churning vortex.

"Hmm...Do we have any marshmallows? I want a shmore." The white half of Zetsu murmured happily as he gazed at the forming tornado of flame, its girth stretching slowly to a quarter of a mile as Sasuke continued to feed it. The heat was enough to make even them break a sweat, despite beng a safe distance away.

As it touched the ground, a fresh wave of screams rose up into the air. Shinobi and villagers alike were pulled from their feet and whisked towards instant incineration. The charred bodies swirled up through the vortex, along with hunks of rock and trash, later losing momentum and raining back down to the battered earth. Crashing down and exploding into fiery shrapnel.

"They're here." Black Zetsu stated as the faint silhouette of a giant, painted bird melted into view, gliding towards the village. Sasuke's hands fell to his sides as he finished manifesting the rest of the flames. The starry, red and black mangekyo peered into the distance, watching the approaching bird that easily doubled the size of Deidara's. They were much too far for their faces to be seen, but he already knew the horror that had struck them. It would surely rival the horror he'd felt when he rushed naively home on that fateful day long ago...only to discover he was the sole survivor in a sea of blood.

Today, they would know true suffering.

* * *

**_A/N:_**_ I'm sorry if the endings of some of my chapters seem a bit blunt, er...I don't know what else to call it. I just got tired and ran out of steam. But now I'm extremely glad I didn't try to fit the entire battle into one chapter. I would've lost my mind._

_Yes, Tobi was a bit OC, wasn't he? That's because I really like (and miss) the early days of Tobi, when he was silly. I'm trying to give him a balance though...not too ridiculous, and not too serious. Let me know what you think._


End file.
